Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/564 of 19 November 2021 amending Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union list of projects of common interest

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2013 on guidelines for trans-European energy infrastructure and repealing Decision No 1364/2006/EC and amending Regulations (EC) No 713/2009, (EC) No 714/2009 and (EC) No 715/2009 (1), and in particular Article 3(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 establishes a framework for the identification, planning and implementation of projects of common interest (‘PCIs’) which are required to implement the nine strategic geographical energy infrastructure priority corridors identified in the fields of electricity, gas and oil, and the three Union-wide energy infrastructure priority areas for smart grids, electricity highways and carbon dioxide transportation networks.

(2) The list of PCIs is established every 2 years. The latest list was established in 2019 and entered into force in 2020. Thus, it is necessary to replace it.

(3) Projects proposed for the inclusion in the Union list have been assessed by the regional groups referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 who confirmed that they meet the criteria laid down in Article 4 of that Regulation.

(4) The draft regional lists of PCIs were agreed by the regional groups at technical-level meetings. The oil Regional Group agreed not to put forward a draft list of oil projects to be included in the Union list of PCIs in view of the Union’s climate targets and the carbon neutrality objective. Following the opinions of the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (‘ACER’) on 27 October on the consistent application of the assessment criteria and the cost/benefit analysis across regions, the regional groups’ decision-making bodies adopted the regional lists on 9 November. Pursuant to Article 3(3) point (a) of Regulation (EU) No 347/2013, prior to the adoption of the regional lists, all proposed projects were approved by the Member States to whose territory the projects relate.

(5) Organisations representing relevant stakeholders, including producers, distribution system operators, suppliers, and consumer and environmental protection organisations were consulted on the projects proposed for inclusion in the Union list.

(6) PCIs should be listed per strategic trans-European energy infrastructure priorities in the order laid down in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 347/2013.

(7) PCIs should be listed either as stand-alone PCIs or as a part of a cluster of several PCIs because they are interdependent or (potentially) competing.

(8) The Union list contains projects at different stages of their development, including pre-feasibility, feasibility, permit-granting and construction. For PCIs at an early development stage, studies may be needed to demonstrate technical and economic viability and compliance with Union legislation, including environmental legislation. In this context, potential negative impacts on the environment should be adequately identified, assessed and avoided or mitigated.

(9) The inclusion of projects on the Union list is without prejudice to the outcome of the relevant environmental assessment and permit procedure.

(10) Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex VII to Regulation (EU) No 347/2013 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 19 November 2021.

For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 115, 25.4.2013, p. 39.